G8

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT G8 - PAGE 4

CAMP David., Md (Reuters) - The Group of Eight leaders are committed to keeping global oil markets supplied as sanctions on Iran's crude supply take force, but did not discuss a specific trigger that would prompt action, a U.S. official said on Saturday. Michael Froman, a senior White House aide, told reporters that although oil prices have been declining in recent weeks, they remain high. He said a joint energy statement released by the G8 reflected unity on the issue and a readiness to ask the International Energy Agency to take steps to ensure the oil market remains healthy if there are further strains.

CAMP DAVID, Maryland (Reuters) - Group of Eight leaders agreed in their initial discussions at Camp David on Friday that Iran needs to disclose more about its nuclear ambitions and that it was time to focus on a political transition in Syria, a U.S. official said. The leaders also stressed the importance of having North Korea adhere to international norms with its nuclear program and said it would face more isolation if it "continues down the path of provocation," the official said.

May 19 (Reuters) - Following is the text of a statement on global oil markets from the Group of Eight leaders gathered at the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland. The text was issued by the White House. There have been increasing disruptions in the supply of oil to the global market over the past several months, which pose a substantial risk to global economic growth. In response, major producers have increased their output while drawing prudently on excess capacity.

TOKYO, May 21 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average inched higher on Monday, recovering from sharp falls in the previous session, as a call from world leaders for Greece to remain in the euro zone and for Europe to balance austerity with growth helped ease investor worries. The Nikkei added 0.2 percent to 8,623.66 after sliding 3 percent on Friday to log a seventh straight week of losses, its longest such run since the third quarter of 2001. The benchmark has fallen 15.9 percent since hitting a one-year high on March 27 as the euro zone sovereign debt crisis and concerns over slowing global growth intensified.

MILAN (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti took a plan to create a European system to guarantee bank deposits to the G8 summit, the Corriere della Sera newspaper said on Saturday, as savers' anxiety built in debt-ridden euro zone countries. The proposal aims to guarantee bank deposits "with a view to ... stopping the hemorrhaging of funds from one country to another, from the south to the north," the newspaper reported, without citing any sources. According to the Corriere, the plan discussed on Friday at the Group of Eight summit in the United States envisages European governments jointly funding guarantees for bank deposits to reassure savers in more vulnerable countries.

CAMP DAVID, Md., May 19 (Reuters) - Group of Eight leaders agreed on Saturday to call on the International Energy Agency to take "appropriate action" if there are further disruptions to the oil market in the coming months, sources familiar with the G8 draft communique said. "There have been increasing disruptions in the supply of oil to the global market over the past several months, which pose a substantial risk to global economic growth. In response, major producers have increased their output while drawing prudently on excess capacity," the statement will say, according to the sources.

LONDON (Reuters) - Foreign ministers from the Group of Eight countries condemned the launch of a long-range rocket by North Korea (DPRK) on Friday, saying the action violated U.N. Security Council resolutions. "Sharing the view that the launch undermines regional peace and stability, we call on the DPRK to abstain from further launches using ballistic missile technology or other actions which aggravate the situation on the Korean Peninsula," the G8 ministers said in a statement following a meeting in Washington.

To paraphrase former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, there are a lot of “known unknowns” about the coming G-8 and NATO summits that will bring dozens of world leaders and possibly thousands of protesters to Chicago for the weekend of May 19-21. How much will security and preparations for the overlapping meetings cost, and how will the city get the federal government to pay for it? How many demonstrators will show up? What will the police reaction be? What kind of restrictions or inconveniences will residents, employers, workers and tourists face?

Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to raise fines for resisting police as the city gears up for anticipated protests that will come with the G8 and NATO summits to be held in Chicago next May. Protesters found guilty of resisting a police officer or aiding escape would have to pay a maximum fine ranging from $200 to $1,000. Currently, the range is $25 to $500. The proposal introduced at today's City Council meeting also would allow Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy to deputize officers with other agencies, including the FBI and Illinois State Police.

May 17 (Reuters) - Europe's economic struggles are set to dominate this weekend's Group of Eight (G8) summit at the U.S. presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, with concerns about energy and food prices as well as Afghanistan, Iran and Syria lower on the agenda. U.S. President Barack Obama will host leaders from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Japan, Canada, and the European Union at the rustic Catoctin Mountain Park getaway for less than 24 hours, with almost all of the talks behind closed doors.